NZ south island help

A few buddies and I are planning a trip to NZ next year to go hunt. We have been once before but did not get to hunt. We are looking for some information on DIY. We have done quite a bit of research already but just need help on exactly where to go. We would be willing to pay a small fee to anyone that could help send us in the right direction. I will also post in the swap hunt section as well.

I am a Kiwi living in Seattle and visit family every year over Christmas / New Year so I could give you some pointers on DIY hunting in the lower South Island.

It is very easy to take a rifle over there and the hunting regulations are the same for resident and non residents. Simply stated there are no tags required and no seasons on any species with the exception of some areas during the rutting period - mid March to mid April.

When I asked the West coast conservancy where is the the easiest place to hunt from a main road with a close town for supplies on a normal West coast conservancy permit this is what they sent back . Whataroa area West coast recommended part marked in blue for deer , public access permit and I have added all the Thar blocks that require special booking and or draws of the block in Red . In pink is areas that did contain Thar and possibly chamois back then that are public access on a basic permit .
Things may have changed so check with West coast conservancy
Below yellow line is Canterbury conservancy . Godley river I think.
There is Thar data information available from the conservancies that tell you which blocks are available when and how to get to them by public access or chopper . Many you can get a permit and just drive to them and walk in.
Send this map to West coast conservancy and see what they say now about this area .
I did all the research and booked the hunt but my wife fell gravely ill on the journey and I had to fly her home from Christchurch the NZ people were very helpful and good to our plight . I never got to hunt in NZ unfortunately . Our insurance company ripped us off and only paid half of the costs because we had travelled half the distance even though 90% of the actual bookings costs was lost . So don't ask me what game I shot because I will start crying tears of blood.

Thanks for all the helpful info! We have been looking at the west coast because of the amount of game and the topo. We would like to go after stags, chamois, tahr, and goats. We do not need to harvest huge stags we really would like to just find numbers.

We have looked at getting a heli, but would rather save the money to put toward another end of the trip perhaps.

We are planning around march / April but would like to avoid the block system thing that they have in place during some of that time.

We are in great shape and live in some of the toughest country around so we would have no problem backpacking in to remote locations.

Thanks for the other forums, I joined them and will start talking to some kiwis. Everyone seems very helpful down there.

Thanks for the great map and info! Will check into them heavily. We need to talk to the doc a little more, it seems they are very helpful. We have been looking at there maps that show where they have culled and the data from the blocks.

It looks like we have the gun importing figured out mostly... We will most likely land in Christchurch then drive out to the west coast from there.

So should we be looking into private land at all?

Also the roar blocks seem complicated, plus we would like to move around the areas while looking for game or pursuing different animals.

You said that huts are not far enough the well traveled path. Would you recommend a certain one or area that we should stay in then spike camp off of? Like hike further out and tent camp, then come back to the hut?

Thanks so much for all the info! You guys rock!
Any advice is appreciated!

Be careful of the chopper fees they can charge you a lot of money just to fly over the next hill from where you already are.
Large numbers of deer are not around like they once were before helicopter hunting and proffesional cullling . NZ proffessional cullers were the most effecient hunters on the planet and they basically wiped out large herds .
Like the Caples fallow herd which they also poisoned . It was the largest Fallow herd on Earth and they dessimated it .
I would not leave anything behind in a hut . Travel light and take everything with you each day or stash some stuff in a dry bag in the bush away from the hut and pick it up on the way back to the hut.
Purify all water taken anywhere near a hut as many of the tarns contain Legionella and Ecoli .
My research at the time showed that the largest number of deer were in the Waitutu forest in the very South . You can walk in along the coast from Tuatapere but it is Maori land along some of the coast so no hunting near teh coast . Or get a jet boat down Lake Hauroko to Teal Bay , Dean and Rowallan forests are close by and also have deer .
I have a massive data base on NZ but I don't want to go back into it much because it's upsetting .
In the old days the best thar blocks were Adams , Lambert and Lambert Lord and you had to chopper in bt it is technically possible to tramp in up the Wanganui river to Adams river . However you can do a lot of driving and permit hunting for the cost of chopper fees.
I reckon the best plan is to get around as many places as possible rather than spend big money on one spot that might fail . You see more of the country and meet more people that may put you onto a good local spot .

I'm down in Invercargill, NZ's southermost city, about two hours drive south of Queenstown.

I'm not a guide or anything like it (just to be very clear). However we like hosting hunters from other places and giving what pointers I can. Sometimes I'l take guys hunting in a handy place, usually after goats or east coast Tahr where we can be certain of getting shootable animals just to help them get a feel for our mountains and sort out their plans and gear.